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Celebrating 4 Years Today! Thank you!

You have blessed me.

Today we are celebrating Proverbs & Wisdom’s 4th anniversary! Four years ago today I prayed to God saying, “Lord, if you allow me to just bless one person for your glory, to bring one person a little closer to your heart, I’ll be satisfied.”

2012: Our first anniversary cake

Honestly, I didn’t think about that prayer too much longer after I said “amen.” I was conscious of it, I awaited for God’s perfect timing to answer it, but I didn’t stress over when He would or how He would. I let my request be known to God and trusted Him with all the details.

From there I started posting daily encouragement and typing up teachings. And then it happened…

About two months in a few people discovered Proverbs & Wisdom and emailed me saying, “Your ministry has encouraged me.”

Ministry? I thought. Uh, no. “I don’t have a ministry,” I’d reply back in an email. “I’m just writing for God, but I’m happy I blessed you!!!”

Then it happened on Twitter: “Thanks so much for your ministry,” someone mentioned me.

“Ministry?” I’d mentioned them back: “@name thank you, but we aren’t a ministry!”

Comment after comment, email after email, people kept saying “thanks for your ministry” and I got frustrated. Ministry is what you do in church, I thought. Ministry is what happened on a street outreach, or on the radio and TV station. Ministry leader is not me. Ministry is not this.

It took almost five to six months for me to realize that ministry, as Peter Lord says, “is what God does through you for others.” Ministry, therefore, isn’t a “church” thing. Ministry is a lifestyle that you live daily. Ministry is all about how available you make yourself to reach the people God is trying to touch. Ministry isn’t what happens on Sundays within the sanctuary. Worship is a lifestyle and when you use your gifts and talents for God’s purposes as He desires, you begin living out your personal ministry.

I’m so blessed to have learned this important spiritual lesson, and I have to thank many of you for it. I said this once, and I’ll beat it to death but to get a blessing, give one. It was in my giving that I received the greatest blessing of all: spiritual support and encouragement from each of you. Iron really does sharpen iron.

Our events are also a time of encouragement and love

The creation of Proverbs & Wisdom and my personal testimony which led me to start it is too long for a blog. I may have to do a video blog one day — which my team constantly encourages me to do. (I don’t know, are you interested in video blogs, readers?)

So, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for being within our community and contributing your prayers, your love and kindness, your acts of compassion, and wisdom into this ministry. You have been a tremendous blessing in our lives and we appreciate you. Whether you have been with us from the start or somewhere in between, we are glad to have you and pray that we can continue to lead you closer to the Lord as we continue on.

Now…to celebrate: you can’t celebrate a year’s anniversary in a day. So we’ll be providing fun stories, giveaways, and the like all throughout the month — so make sure you subscribe via email to us!

Oh, just a little side note: we’re calling those within our community to say “Thank you” and even sending you something via postal mail if you’ve provided this information to us. So yeah, get ready for a month filled with joyful surprises. But first…

…A look back on the years:

2011

Founded

Created the Proverbs & Wisdom Encouragement News (a newsletter)

Hosted a drive which provided underprivileged children with school supplies

2012

IN THE LIGHT Magazine was first published

Help fund a water well through the nonprofit charity: water which enabled a community in Ethiopia to have clean, drinking water for the rest of their lives and future generations

Created the Kingdom Writer’s Award which commends writers who focus on encouraging lives and producing uplifting work in this dark and dim world

Hosted the RAINN drive: bringing awareness and reaching out to government officials on behalf of women and children who have been sexually assaulted

Created “The Prayer Movement” in where our community came together to pray, learn about prayer, and build up one another

2013

Hosted a Letters for Troops drive in where our community sent prayers and letters of encouragement to those fighting in combat

Made the headlines of JesusReport.com for raising awareness for orphaned children and those who are within the foster care system

Acknowledged by SHINE CHILDREN group in India for spreading awareness on orphaned children and bringing encouragement and hope

Digitally published our first eBook: God in Your Morning

Co-founded EncourageMe Chats in where bi-weekly conversations were held with our community and other ministries to learn how to encourage ourselves and others in the Lord

2014

Hosted our first in-person anniversary celebration with our community

Published the print edition of God in Your Morning

Hosted a drive for St. Jude’s Hospital in where over 1,300 donations were received

IN THE LIGHT was invited as a media partner for Ladies Night In events

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About Post Author

Ashley is the founder of Proverbs & Wisdom and IN THE LIGHT magazine's editor in chief. Her first publication was at age 16 in a poetry anthology. Since then, her work has appeared in international poetry collections, community magazines, and websites she has been a guest writer on. She has been invited to do poetry readings at outreaches and universities also. For Ashley, writing is more than characters on paper. It is life that is constantly influencing those reading or listening to it. Her hope is those who have experienced her words are impacted positively and remain close to God’s heart.
Email: a-ormon@proverbsnwisdom.com